Max Mara (Italian aks 'ma:ra is an Italian fashion business. It markets up-market ready-to-wear clothing. It was established in 1951 in

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abo ...

by Achille Maramotti (7 January 1927 – 12 January 2005). In March 2008, the company had 2,254 stores in 90 countries. It sponsors the Max Mara Art Prize for Women.

History

Achille Maramotti began designing couture clothing in 1947, and officially established the House of Max Mara in 1951. The "Mara" came from his surname, while "Max" referred to Count Max, a local character who was seldom sober but always stylish. Maramotti was one of the first to see that the future of fashion lay in the mass production of designer-quality clothes. He was also keen to emphasise the brand of Max Mara ahead of the names of individual designers, even though he employed

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...

, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac,

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce & Gabbana (), also known by initials D&G, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, and cos ...

, Narciso Rodriguez and

Anne Marie Beretta Anne-Marie Beretta (born 24 September 1937) is a French stylist. She is known particularly for her iconic "101801" coat designed for Max Mara. In 1986 she became a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. Life Beretta was born in Béziers in 1937. In ...

. The company remains in the hands of the family.

Brands

Max Mara has spawned 35 labels, although Max Mara womenswear, usually stylized as MaxMara, remains the core of the company. Other brands include Sportmax, Sportmax Code, Weekend Max Mara, Marella, Pennyblack, iBlues, MAX&Co. (the trendy, youth division), and

Marina Rinaldi Marina Rinaldi is a ready-to-wear, plus-size women's clothing brand of the Italian Max Mara Fashion Group, one of the best known of the company’s 35 different labels.�History & Philosophy’, Marina Rinaldi. It has more than 300 stores worldwi ...

. This last, founded in 1980 and named after Achille Maramotti's great grandmother, is one of the best-known: in her obituary of Maramotti for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

''. As of July 17, 2013, Jennifer Garner is the first celebrity spokesperson for Max Mara. Starting in September 2013, the campaign appears in ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'', ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the ...

'', ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'', '' W'', ''

InStyle ''InStyle'' was an American monthly women's fashion magazine founded in 1994. It was published in the United States by Dotdash Meredith. In February 2022, it was announced that InStyle would cease print publications and move to a digital-only f ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', and the ''

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...

''.

Family

Achille Maramotti was born on January 7, 1927, in

in Italy. Maramotti was educated in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and received a law degree from the University of Parma. According to the Forbes Rich List of 2005, Maramotti was one of the world's richest men with a fortune of US$2.1 billion. He died in

Albinea Albinea ( Reggiano: or ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about southwest of Reggio nell'Emilia. A document shows that in 980 Holy Roman ...

, Italy on January 12, 2005. Maramotti's two sons and daughter, Luigi, Ignazio and Ludovica, followed him into the business; Luigi Maramotti is chairman of the company. After his death, according to Maramotti's will, a large and important collection of

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic ...

from Europe and America was made open to the public.Collezionemaramotti.org
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References

External links

* {{Authority control, state=collapsed Max Mara Clothing brands of Italy High fashion brands Design companies established in 1951 Clothing companies established in 1951 Italian companies established in 1951 Eyewear brands of Italy